Propaganda Piece: Independent Needs to Retract Falsehood-Filled Article on Domestic Abuse

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Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: 07967 026163

Propaganda Piece: Independent Needs to Retract Falsehood-Filled Article on Domestic Abuse

LONDON / February 24, 2023 – On February 21, the Independent ran a commentary about the tragic shooting death of Emma Pattison (1). Unfortunately, the article fails to meet basic journalistic principles of accuracy, fairness, and balance. The biases are so egregious that the Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance is calling on the Independent to retract the deeply flawed article.

The Independent article fails to provide appropriate context, such as the well-documented fact that men are twice as likely to be victims of homicide as women (2). One of those men was Frankie Fitzgerald, victim of a grisly attack by his girlfriend, Shaye Groves of Hampshire. In July 2022, Groves slit Fitzgerald’s throat and stabbed him 17 times in the chest. Last week, Groves was sentenced to a life sentence (3). None of these facts received mention in the Independent commentary.

The Independent essay claims that murders of children are “overwhelmingly, a crime committed by men.” But the truth is the opposite – mothers are the most common killers of their children (4). An international analysis concluded that “63.4% of child murders are perpetrated by mothers, with 36.6% done by fathers.” (5)

Ruth Davison, CEO of Refuge, makes the egregious claim that “domestic abuse is a gendered crime, rooted in misogyny.” But research shows the opposite to be true. In the United Kingdom:

The Home Office reported identical percentages of domestic violence victimization of 4.2% for both men and women (6).
A survey of university students found female students were far more likely to be perpetrators of dating violence than male students: 15.6% versus 7.0%. (7)

Women in lesbian relationships face a far greater risk of domestic abuse:

The ONS reports that women in lesbian relationships are almost twice as likely to have been abused by a partner (10.1%) than women in heterosexual relationships (5.3%). (8)
A university-conducted survey found 40.1% of females revealed they had experienced domestic abuse by a female partner (9).

Nor is domestic abuse “rooted in misogyny.” University of Central Lancashire professor Nicola Graham-Kevan reveals this controversial view is “ideologically based, rather than empirically supported.” (10) Domestic abuse is caused by broad range of factors, especially alcohol abuse, mental health problems, and relationship break-down (11).

If domestic abuse is “rooted in misogyny,” then why are women in lesbian relationships at such high risk?

Among male abuse victims, only 15% report the abuse to the police, in large part because they don’t think they will be believed (12). Lesbians reportedly face similar structural barriers (13). This unacceptable state of affairs is partly a result of false narratives such as the one endorsed by the Independent article, which conflates gender ideology with scientific fact.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance calls on the Independent to promptly retract its flawed article, and issue an apology to the untold numbers of male and female victims of female-perpetrated abuse who to this day, remain silent in the shadows.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 73 member organizations from 28 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and sex-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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